


Don't You Have Somewhere Else To Be ?

by LivingInFiction



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, God I love the dynamic between these two, Goldgraves, Happens after Tina attacked Mary-Lou, No Gellert Grindelwald, Pre-Movie(s), Prompt Fic, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-05-15
Packaged: 2018-11-01 02:33:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10912536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivingInFiction/pseuds/LivingInFiction
Summary: She knew that Graves cared about the Aurors he was responsible of, even if the way he showed it wasn’t always the most polite one. Percival Graves wasn’t a heartless man, not as much as he liked to make it believe, at least.





	Don't You Have Somewhere Else To Be ?

**Author's Note:**

> A friend challenged me to write a Goldgraves fanfiction with the dialogue prompt "Don't you have somewhere else to be ?", took me some time but I made it !
> 
> Enjoy !

If Tina had to be honest, she really wasn’t proud of herself in this very moment. When she came to help Credence, that poor No-Maj boy, and cast a spell on his abusive mother, she expected that this act wouldn’t go unnoticed. She wasn’t surprised when Aurors appeared in the small church, a few minutes later, and that Graves was the one who picked her up, his hand holding her right arm with a firm grip as he lifted her, to disapparate to M.A.C.U.S.A.. She could not even speak a word to him, to try to explain herself, to make him understand why she had broken the law. She just had time to see the door to President Picquery’s office in front of her. Graves knocked once and was answered by Picquery’s voice, allowing them to come inside.The Head Auror complied, he opened the door and dragged Tina along with him in the office, where Picquery was waiting for them, sat at her desk with an angry frown upon her face. 

“Thank you for bringing her so quickly, Graves.”

The tall man gave her a small nod, still silent, as Picquery brought her attention to his subordinate.

“You do realize that I can not ignore what you’ve done, Tina ?”

“Yes, Madam,” she answered, her voice quiet.

She brought her hand shakily to her wand and gave it to the President, tears forming in her eyes. She did her best to breath slowly and, as she tried to calm herself, waited for her sentence. 

“Porpentina Goldstein, you deliberately used magic in front of numerous No-Majs, and put in peril the fragile balance between the wizarding world and the No-Maj world. Therefore, as the President of the M.A.C.U.S.A., I dismiss you from your status as an Auror. You will be judged in court, where your fate will be decided by the high ran—”

“Madam President, may I say a word ?” Interrupted Graves.

Picquery glanced towards the dark-haired man, barely showing her surprise, as he walked in her direction, finally letting go of Tina’s arm. He took place by the President’s side and whispered in her ear things that even Tina couldn’t hear herself. She knew that she did not have a future in M.A.C.U.S.A. anymore, not after what she had done. Yet the brunette couldn’t help but stare at her superior, with the insane hope that maybe, just maybe, he was taking her defence. 

She knew that Graves cared about the Aurors he was responsible of, even if the way he showed it wasn’t always the most polite one. She saw him before, when she was still a newbie, showing a kindness that nobody suspected, when one of his subordinates had taken too many risks. She saw the worry on his face, his slow and comforting moves, and heard his appeasing voice, as he talked to the reckless Auror who went straight on the battlefield. Percival Graves wasn’t a heartless man, not as much as he liked to make it believe, at least.

A small hum from the President brought her back to her current situation. She glanced shyly at her, unable to read the expression that crossed Picquery’s face for a few seconds. She nearly looked conflicted, like the words that Graves was speaking to her made her question her own judgement, until she crossed the gaze of the ex-auror. Tina shifted her position, straightening her back, as they stopped their conversation, Picquery dismissing Graves with a gesture of her hand.

“As I was saying, Miss Goldstein,” she continued, “ you will be judged in court, as an example for every Auror of the M.A.C.U.S.A. to not commit the same mistake as yours.” 

“Yes, Madam...”

Tina lowered her head, a stinging feeling of shame twisting her heart for having such high hopes.

“The trial will be held today, I expect you to be present in one hour in the Pentagram Office, as we will decide of your sentence. In the meantime, you will empty your office under the supervision of Mr. Graves.” She paused and glanced at Tina who nodded in agreement. “You two can go, now.”

Picquery gave one last look at the Head Auror before focusing on her work, the man nodding in agreement as he guided Tina out of the office. They walked through the corridors, the sound of their steps breaking the remaining silence between the two of them. Tina let a sigh escape her lips, as everything that happened until now played again and again in her head. She broke the law and thus lost her job, but at least she did what felt right to her. Even though the loss was outweighing everything else, she was able to help Credence.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Tina. The President has been quite stressed for the past few days.” Graves reassured her.

He opened the door to let Tina enter in her small office, his gaze locked on her, as she went past him. 

“What you did was quite impulsive of you, but you’ve always been like this. You always act on what you judge right before thinking the whole thing through.”

Here it was, that unsuspected gentleness of his. Tina noticed him starting to help her collect her things almost instinctively, his hands taking her belongings gently to put them in a small case that she put on her desk.

“It wasn’t the wisest thing to do, but you really wanted to help that boy, didn’t you ?”

Tina stopped packing and stared at him from the other side of her desk, a sad look upon her face. The way he could read through her so easily was quite disconcerting. She felt like she didn’t even need to tell him how miserable she was for him to understand. Losing a job that she spent a lifetime working for was heartbreaking enough, but hearing him saying such things was nearly too much. It made her realize that everything that happened was real, and that, she was not yet ready to admit. She held her breath, hoping the sadness wouldn’t break the walls that held all of her emotions in, as she felt a large hand gently stroking hers.

“I’m sorry, Tina. There is nothing I can do to make the President change her mind.” 

She felt his hand squeezing hers as he said those words, his voice apologetic when he had no reason to be the one apologizing. Not for what happened. Tina felt tears rolling down her cheeks, unable to control her emotions any longer. She quickly wiped her tears with the back of her other hand, not willing to show how vulnerable she was.

“Here, take this.”

Graves had taken out of one of his pockets a white handkerchief, which Tina took gladly to wipe the remaining of her tears. She held the piece of fabric in her hands, noticing his initials embroidered in one of the corners with a golden thread. She lightly stroked the two letter, focusing her mind on the embroidery.

“Thank you, Mr. Graves.”

Tina gave him a small smile, grateful for his comforting behaviour, before handing him his handkerchief back.

“There’s no need to thank me, Tina.” he replied gently.

Percival put the piece of fabric back in his coat, while Tina closed her case and went around her desk. She gave one last look at her office, her heart stinging at the thought that she would no longer spend her working days here anymore, a place where she worked for what felt like a lifetime. She closed the door softly behind her and walked in the direction of the elevator, Percival following her closely.

“You know, Tina—” Graves started soberly, stopping in his tracks a few steps away form the elevator. 

She turned around, holding the case’s handle with both hands, as she waited for him to finish his sentence.

“Although you will not be an Auror anymore, and that I ignore what will be the outcome of your trial,” Graves looked her in the eyes, his gaze soft, “it recently has come to my attention, that a position as a Federal Wand Permit Officer has been available for the past couple of days.”

Tina stayed still, unsure of whether or not he was really implying what she thought. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but quickly shut it as the Head Auror started speaking again.

“You’re a good element, Tina, and I think it would be a shame for M.A.C.U.S.A. to lose someone like you.”

She stopped breathing, just for a few seconds, as she felt a wave of blissful incredulity come over her. Was that what he said to President Picquery earlier ? Was he redeeming her despite her actions ? She couldn’t figure what to answer to this. There were so many things going through her mind, overwhelming her, incapacitating her from giving a somewhat correct response. 

“Mr. Graves, I-I don’t know what to say, this is—” she began, stumbling over her own words.

Bringing his forefinger to his lips, Percival intimated her from saying anything more, as he gently shushed her. Tina complied, a small frisson coursing throughout her body. She always thought of him as a very suave man, but this gesture nearly made her heart skip a beat, no matter how unprofessional this was. 

The characteristic sound of the elevator arriving brought her back to the present moment. Tina regained her composure, straightening her coat, while Graves opened the scissor gate of the elevator for her.

“Well, don’t you have somewhere else to be, Miss Goldstein ?” he asked, a content smile painted on his face. “Madam President is waiting for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> So here it is, my first fanfiction in English !  
> And first fanfiction about Fantastic Beasts, hooray !
> 
> I hope you liked it !
> 
> If you notice grammar mistakes, or mispelled words, please do tell me and I'll correct it ASAP ! :) 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading !


End file.
